Generally, an IC card used as a portable electronic device is provided with a card shaped main body formed of plastic or the like, and an IC module embedded in the main body. The IC module has an IC (Integrated Circuit) chip. The IC chip has a nonvolatile memory which can hold data in the state without power source, such as an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) and a flash ROM (Read Only Memory), a CPU (Central Processing Unit) to execute various operations, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) used for the processing of the CPU, and so on.
An IC card can perform transmission of data and reception of data by contactless communication. The IC card to perform contactless communication is provided with an IC chip and an antenna. The IC card receives magnetic field outputted from a reader/writer of an IC card processing device which processes the IC card through the antenna within the IC card, and operates by electric power induced by electromagnetic induction. In addition, when the IC card receives a command from the IC card processing device by contactless communication, the IC card executes an application in accordance with the received command. By this means, the IC card can realize various functions.
Conventionally, an IC card processing device performs as an active mode which transmits a command to an IC card. In addition, the IC card performs as a passive mode which performs processing in accordance with the received command. But, recently, an IC card which performs as an active mode has been desired.
In order to perform contactless communication between IC cards themselves, it is necessary for either of the IC cards to output carrier wave. Because of this, there is an IC card provided with a battery. But when the remaining capacity of a battery becomes insufficient, it becomes impossible to perform communication between an active mode and a passive mode.